Mormon Dilemma 275

History of Joseph Smith

Evidences and Reconciliations, pg 334; “Because the earliest available written or printed account of this vision is dated 1838 and 1839, some enemies of the Church have cast doubt upon the authenticity of the date claimed for the vision. They have suggested that the vision was invented by the Prophet in 1838, when he set about to write the formal history of the Church. This not only implies that Joseph Smith lied, but also that the facts of history to be acceptable must be written and circulated at the time of their occurrence. This is a preposterous claim, made only by enemies of the Church to mislead those who are unacquainted with Mormon history. Whether the story of the first vision existed in written form in the early days of the Church is not known.”

Eccl. 7:20; “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

One would think that someone like Smith who loved to write stories would’ve had his testimony written out by 1830 – not 1838.  And notice there are nine different versions of the first vision which in fact causes one to wonder if Smith even had a first vision or if he’s lying about that too.

While different testimonies of one event are quite common and to be expected, the different accounts are typically coming from different people, NOT the same person.  Smith has claimed that Nephi appeared to him, then Moroni, then God and Jesus, then John the Baptist…you can read all nine versions here http://lifeafterministry.com/2011/04/05/first-vision-of-joseph-smith-2/